Nikon Pulls Back the Curtain on New D5500, Plus Lenses
How to make a great camera better at video? Add a touchscreen.
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To kick off 2015 International CES, Nikon announced the successor to its D5300, the D5500. Though outwardly similar, this refresh is actually a respectable overhaul. Also announced were two new lenses, the AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR II Zoom, and the AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR.
An articulating touchscreen is a monster addition for video shooters.
On the outside, Nikon trimmed a little fat, lightening the load to 14.8 ounces thanks to a slightly reshaped grip. The D5500 retains some of the D5300's better features—onboard WiFi and an articulating 1.037m dot LCD—but this DSLR has an all-new feature, too: a capacitive touchscreen.
With this addition, so too come features like touch-to-focus, on-screen touch-centric menus, and improved control while shooting video. Under the hood, the D5500 sports a 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor with no optical low-pass filter, and a 39 point autofocus system. To back up this chip is an EXPEED 4 processor—much like the D5500's predecessor, the D5300.
A new zoom for DX format cameras, the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II offers 3.6x zoom.
For telephoto shooters, Nikon's AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR II Zoom offers users with a DX-format crop body the opportunity to shoot with a 3.6x zoom. Bundled as a kit option for the Nikon D5500, you can also buy it separately.
It may look huge, but this AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR is much lighter than its predecessor.
Users of FX format cameras also have a new telephoto lens at their disposal, an AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR. Weighing in at a full 1.5 pounds lighter than its predecessor, this lens has been shrunk down to around 70% of the length of the original. With Nikon's VR system on-board, the new glass allegedly offers four and a half stops of stabilization.
For those interested, the Nikon D5500 hits shelves in early February 2015 in three configurations: with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II for $999.95, with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR for $1,199.95, and body-only for $899.95. Nikon's AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR II and FX-format AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR both hit the market in early February—$349.95 for the former, and $1,999.95 for the latter.